Detroit Film Theatre

AUGUSTINE

Sunday, July 21, 2013

4:30 PM Detroit Film Theatre

(France/2012—directed by Alice Winocour)

The fascinating and darkly sensual new dramaAugustine is based on the true story of the unusual relationship that developed between Dr. Jean-Martin Charcot, the pioneering 19th century French neurologist and mentor to Sigmund Freud, and his “star” teenage patient. In Belle Epoque Paris, 19-year-old kitchen maid Augustine (27 year-old French recording artist Soko in a breakout performance) suffers an inexplicable seizure that leaves her partially paralyzed. Shipped off to an all-female psychiatric hospital specializing in the then-fashionable ailment of “hysteria,” Augustine captures the attention of renowned neurologist Dr. Charcot (Vincent Lindon) after she has a second attack that appears to give her intense physical pleasure. As Augustine displays her spectacular fits in lecture halls under Charcot’s direction, the lines between doctor and patient become blurred. Chronicling one woman’s sexual awakening against the backdrop of Victorian psychology and repression, director Alice Winocour’s feature debut also stars Chiara Mastroianni. Cannes and Toronto Film Festivals; 2013 César Nominee, Best First Feature. In French with English subtitles. (102 min.)

“An absorbingly sensuous period drama from an exciting new writing/directing talent.” –Neil Young, The Hollywood Reporter

“An unorthodox romance and a study of sexual politics, charged with erotic tension and building to a climactic reversal of power. Soko, the French actress and singer, inhabits the title role with consummate poise.” –Dennis Lim, The New York Times